Apex
by DoutonDaryuudan
Summary: Starts after Naruto comes back from his three years of training: What has come over him? Why has he changed, and what are his new feelings? NaruHina SasuSaku NejiTen
1. Loneliness On All Fronts

A/N: Hello, kiddies. This is my first Naruto fanfic. I hope you like it. As always, reviews are very much wanted, and flaming will result in many third degree burns on my already small ego. Don't hurt it too much…

Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own Naruto. Get it through your head.

And off to the story we go…

In all his dreams, it all came back to that point, that person, the apex of his focus, the crossroads of his thoughts converged on this.

Walking down the gravelly hill, he walked without that usual spring, his face gloomy, like that storm that had ravaged his village of Konoha. A small fly buzzing around a birds nest chose the adolescent's nose as a perch, only to be shooed away half-heartedly by a reluctant hand, which was accompanied by a weary heart. His garb had changed for this day, and he was decked out in a black kimono, the same one that he had worn to the funeral of Sandaime. The black garment fluttered slightly in the wind, marking the mournful setting for the day.

Fifteen years since the day he had been born. Fifteen years since that incident, his incident. The hatred welled up inside, and a shot of red chakra flared from his being. He didn't see why they averted their eyes in shame, or openly glared, unloading hate onto him, glares sucked in by his frame, his body taking in all the invisible blows. He kept his head down, thinking about his return as he kicked a pebble. After all this time, they still hated him for being alive. They despised him for being their savior. Their murderous intent focused on their hope, their protector. Ero-Sennin had warned him about their reaction to his return, but he wouldn't hear any of it. After all, he had proved himself as a worthy Konoha shinobi, honorable and full of good deeds done in the past. His list of vanquished enemy nins who posed a threat was greater than any chuunins, anyways. It was three years ago that he had saved the town from Sabaku no Gaara, and inadvertently made himself a frieand that day. Ever since, Gaara had changed, and their second meeting was much less tense, as they knew each other's pain. A year and a half had passed since Sasuke had been rescued by Naruto from Orochimaru's darkness. The fight had been long and bloody, but the power trip laid in Sasuke's head had been forcibly removed. Granted, it was his second attempt, and The Valley Of The End had yet to recover from this fresh set of craters.

And yet, they still hated him. His name, Uzumaki, had gone from the revered 4th Hokage to this evil demon child. He had walled himself inside since his return, not meething anyone besides Ero-Sennin. Their hair had grown to the same shape, albeit different colors. Naruto was still the shocking blonde he always was. He was so absorbed in himself that he didn't notice the group of Konoha-nins walking up towards him. As he looked up, finally, both parties gasped in shock.

The five nins, Hyuuga Neji, Hyuuga Hinata, Tenten, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke, were trying to enjoy the beautiful day despite the glumness surrounding them on all sides. They did dress for the occasion, and their garb was also all black. Sasuke had recently been released from his probation, and had definitely changed his outlook for the better. Just three months ago, he had finally come to terms with his feelings, a month ago, had finally told Sakura everything.

FLASHBACK 

Sasuke sat in a tree, tossing a rock up and down, a morose look on his face. Why couldn't he just _say it? _He felt that same helplessness, that same weakness. He clammed up now in front of her, like a fish out of water. He threw the rock at the ground, making a furrow in it. It was just his luck that he was waiting by the bridge. The old Team 7 bridge. The bridge she walked by every day. Damn it all, he would tell her. As if on cue, he saw the very object of his affections. _Damn it, I needed more time to plan this! _Sasuke, was, to put it in blunt terms, screwed.

Sakura trudged along, thoughts full of rage and annoyance. That stupid stupid alarm clock just HAD to go off late, and now she was late. Late as hell, to say it truthfully. Tsunade-sama would kill her. Kill her dead, she would. If only something would go **right **today, damn it! Inner Sakura was up and ready to kick the next dumb shit's ass that annoyed her. Until she thought of Sasuke. Now, she knew how mad she was supposed to be at him, but, he was _Sasuke_. Her only love, not that he cared. He was so unfeeling, the bastard! But, she couldn't hate him. Ah well, she was pissed anyways. Ambling along, she failed to notice the boy sitting in the tree. She just ambled on, muttering oaths and curses under her breath.

Sasuke frowned. She had walked right by the damn tree? Christ, this would be hard to tell. He _was_ weak, it was only denial that held him back. God damn his weakness. He had to _fight it!_

"Sakura!"

Sakura almost fell over with disbelief. "Sasuke-kun?"

"…"

"Well, what? You know, I'm late for my lesson with Tsunade-sama."

"…"

"Ok, fine, whatever." Sakura started to walk away, a puzzled and annoyed expression on her face.

_Damn it!_ "Wait, Sakura!"

"What! What is it?"

"I just wanted to say that, uhh… how should I put this… hmm…"

Sakura did a double take. Sasuke stuttering? What the fuck was going on. He had never stammered or stuttered. Ever. What the fuck was going on.

"I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for lying."

Sakura frowned. "Lying? About what?"

Sasuke went a deep shade of red, unaccustomed to being assailed like this by his own emotions. "W-well, I-I really like you, Sakura…"

Sakura's eyes went wide, and her jaw slackened. Had he? He hadn't, had-OHMYGODOHMYGOD _Hell Yes!_

"I know, I-I've been mean to you, no, evil to you. I know that you don't love me bac-"

Sakura didn't care what he had to say next, and muffled his lips with hers.

END FLASHBACK 

Hinata smiled to herself. They had been inseparable after that. Neji and Tenten too, after the first mission to bring back Sasuke failed. But there was no one to love Hinata. No one would ever love her.


	2. Naruto's Realization

A/N: Chapter two is here. Thank you to my reviewers, your feedback has been very helpful. Some thanks and stuff to some of my reviewers: Xoni Newcomer: About the viewpoints: Yeah, I should keep to one, shouldn't I. I fixed the timeline problem, when I looked at my notebook, it seems I just switched them around from page to type. And, all will be explained in due time, especially the whole "instant love" Sasuke stuff. Dragon Man 180: You seem to be a NaruHina fan, ne? Sweet. Cccsss: Yeah, this'll be going on for a while, and the chapters will get longer. I just wanted to post this here to test the waters. Kitsune-Itai: Well, sorry about your hate of flashbacks, but it's the only tool that will explain all the stuff in detail. It's a vital part of my story. Sorry man. Now, To the story! Then, of course, she looked up. She never had expected to see the love of her pre-adolescent life standing in front of her, especially at the height of her lonely depression. But, she did love him, didn't she? She hadn't thought of love since Hiashi-sama had threatened her with disownment. Hiashi-sama had always thought of Hinata as useless. He constantly made her aware of it, a condescending look here, a snide remark there. Hinata loathed it, loathed it with a passion. She had improved greatly. Kurenai-sensei had been helping her more, and so had Neji nii-san. He had been very patient teacher, surprisingly, and her skill in Jyuuken had increased drastically. Neji even had said, offhandedly, that the speed of her hands almost rivaled his. However, when Neji wanted to, his hands were invisible. None of his opponents had seen his hands disappear and lived through it. Hinata now excelled in genjutsu, and her taijutsu was much better, though Neji was still more than a match for her. And yet, her father didn't notice. He was too caught up in Hanabi, in her training to care about Hinata. Hinata inwardly smirked. She was so much better than her sister. So much stronger, now. If only Hiashi would give her another damn chance! It was trial enough to get this good, let alone not being acknowledged for it. And now, all those thoughts of love, those thoughts of Naruto-kun came flooding back to her, the things she had been suppressing all these years, in a torrent of words and actions, those she had seen, and those she had heard about... _"I think you are strong, Naruto-Kun. You learn from your mistakes…"_ _Naruto stood over an unconcious Hinata. He put his hand in her blood, raised it up, and yelled, "Neji, I'll beat you up!"_ She remembered the faint tinge of red that had accosted her cheeks at the sight of him. It was one of those things that just happened, and Naruto thought she had recurring heat stroke problems. She mentally smiled at his ignorance. Oh he was a dense one. But, he believed in her. He made her feel special inside, and she wanted, oh so much to do the same to him. It ate her up inside that the village hated him, and the fact that they couldn't give a reason. God damn, she hated them. Naruto had done nothing to them, except for the occasional prank or two. He was an outcast still, after three years of absence. She now wondered if anything would change. And, now, three years later, here he stood. Suddenly, her mind went blank, and her fingers flew towards each other, pushing up against themselves in a habit she thought she had broken. The tinge of red had once again taken residence in her cheeks, and her mind worked furiously to put any two words together. Her inner self was fuming at this relapse into her old habits. And, finally, a word came unbidden from her mouth. "N-NARUTO-KUN!" She leapt forward and seized him in a tight hug, whose power belied her small frame. Her Naruto-kun had come back, and with him, her hope. **Naruto's POV** Naruto was stunned at the sight of his old companions. They went back to the days before everything was flipped upside down by Orochimaru. The damn Sannin was such a malicious fuck, everything he did was bent on his own ego-fueled power trip. If I had half the chance, I'd drive a Rasengan through that bastard's face. It had been at least 3 years since he had seen them, barring Sasuke, who Naruto was still pissed at. He barely knew Tenten and Neji, having only fought Neji in the Chuunin Exam finals. Tenten, he saw only once, again during the Chuunin exam. His eyes lingered on Sakura and Sasuke. _Boy,_ he thought, _Sasuke has changed. Never thought I'd see his arm around Sakura. Not that I care anymore. Wait…what? I don't care anymore?_ Naruto's expression did flip-flops at the thought of this. The voices in his head had a conference: _Hold on a sec! This is so weird! I always liked Sakura-Chan!_ _Wait a second! Who did you think about whenever you were training! Who was always on your mind! Was it Sakura?__No, but, it's so weird! I spent so much of my life after her. I feel guilty just giving her up like this._ _Let me make two things clear for you! Even if you didn't want to give her up, she's with Sasuke-teme now. And, you didn't answer my first question. If it wasn't Sakura you were thinking about, then who was it, god damnit? Who!_ _Well, you know who it was! It was-_ All thoughts prior were knocked from his head as Hinata barreled into him, locking him in a hug that knocked out his wind. _Wow, she's grown since I last saw her. I can't believe it. She used to be shy and quiet, but so caring. Oh god, she cared about me. And I didn't realize it until that stupid day... I am so stupid._ **Flashback** Jiraiya stood over Naruto's bruised body, breathing lightly. The perverted hermit's features were graced with an angry scowl, and his face was red. "Naruto," he yelled, "You are not concentrating! What the hell is up with you today!" Naruto grimaced, and rubbed his head. "Gomen, Ero-Senni-" "I told you never to call me that again! Naruto-baka, you will never learn, will you! What is it with you today? You aren't concentrating!" "I had my head in the clouds Er-Jiraiya-sensei." "Thinking about that girl again, huh. Well, I'll tell you. Sakura is a damn hot chick, and I'd do her any day!" Naruto stood up and whacked Jiraiya. "Pervert! She would never do...THAT to you, of all people. And besides, it isn't Sakura-chan I'm thinking about! It was-" "Whatever, it doesn't matter! You still aren't concentrating. Now, back to work, Naruto-Baka." **End Flashback** Naruto suddenly remembered that he couldn't breathe. And, if he couldn't breathe, that three year training period would most definitely go to waist. "Hina..ta-Chan, can't… breathe… air… need…" Hinata yelped and released him. "Gomen, N-Naruto-kun." Naruto flashed his trademark grin, which had grown from mischevious to soft in three years time. "It's ok, Hinata." He missed them all, especially Hinata. Naruto got himself reacquainted with everybody, and upon reaching Sasuke, smirked at the way his hands lay lovingly on Sakura's shoulder. They were fawning over each other once again, and Naruto let them continue for a moment before clearing his throat. Neji, Tenten, and Hinata looked on, Tenten making a slight gagging noise. Sasuke and Sakura blushed, forgetting where they were. Naruto grinned, then spoke. "So, Sasuke-teme, I showed you true strength there, eh?" Sasuke growled in reply, and said, "You got lucky, Mr. Dead Last, so be quiet about it! It won't happen again! I didn't need you to drag me back, there was nothing for me there!" However, his eyes told the truth, and Sakura hit his arm, rather hard. "And what about me, Mr. I'm-so-good-I-don't-need-anyone-because-I'm-an-arrogant-bastard?" Sasuke cursed inwardly as he replied, "Of course, I meant 'except you'. You should know that, shouldn't you?" And so, the fawning continued. Neji muttered something to Tenten and Hinata about getting a room, and Hinata giggled. The sound made Naruto's heart flutter, and, coincidentally, his stomach growled. He forgot that he had skipped breakfast. "Hey, guys, can we get some food, like at Ichiraku's? I'm starving." The group laughed, and Sakura said, "Ramen as usual? That'll never change, will it, Naruto?" They poked fun at him for a while, but revelled in his company, glad to have one of their own back in the fold. As the gang approached Ichiraku's, Naruto noticed Ayame staring at him for some reason. He just shook it off as something stupid, and waved, yelling, "Ohayo, Ayame! Remember me?" **Ayame's POV** Ayame frowned at the lack of customers occupying the stools in front of her father's restaurant. _Stupid mourning day taking away stupid business because stupid people are fasting. I hate these stupid traditions._ Then, she looked up, and gasped. _Was that, N-Naruto? When did he come back? When did he get so hot? What happened to the twelve year old little kid who once was our regular? And when did he get that sculpted body? Jesus, he loo-_ Naruto's shout for ramen broke her little dirty daydream, and she blushed furiously. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the red tinge that had set up shop in her cheeks. She bustled around, hiding her face behind the counter. _Such dirty thoughts, Ayame! What happened to sweet and innocent ramen girl!_ **Hinata's POV** As Hinata, Naruto, and the gang sat down to wait for their ramen, Hinata could not help but notice how much Naruto had grown, and she wondered... "Naruto-Kun, do you m-mind telling me what happened during your training?" Naruto smiled ruefully and said, "A lot of pain, a lot of growing, more pain, and... yeah, that's about all I remember. Hinata laughed, and said, "Oh, Naruto-kun, we've missed you so much." Sakura, momentarily out of fawn-for-Sasuke mode, and said, "Yeah, we have, especially Hinata!" She winked, and Sasuke smirked and placed a kiss on her forehead. **Naruto's POV** Naruto's eyes went cold, and he looked away to the kitchen, where the ramen had just been brought out. Those two are so lucky to have found love... I wish I could hold Hi-someone like that... _Naruto-baka! Stop beating around your feelings! They won't go the fuck away just because you don't say them out loud!_ _You know exactly what I'm thinking, so what does it matter to you!_ _If you beat around the bush like this, you'll only make yourself more depressed. You know what, say it to me!_ _Say what?_ _That you like Hinata!_ _Like, out loud? No! She'd hear me!_ _Not out loud, you stupid lout, just to me._ _Fine, all right already! I like Hinata, ok? Happy?_ _Quite./__ Naruto looked down at his ramen, and voiced something out loud. "Where's Shikamaru?" He said. Sakura, always the one to be in on these types of things, laughed, and said, "In the woods, hiding from Ino. Chouji says that he's been trying to tell her about his feelings for a long time, but whenever he tries, she comes up with some other reason to interrupt him, and he can't take it anymore! Oh, he's so whipped!" Naruto smiled slightly. "He's a Nara, what do you expect!" The entire group laughed, and, as Naruto looked at Hinata, he noticed her laughter was pure and piercing. is expression turned gloomy at what he thought was his unrequited love, and looked towards his ramen for solace. **Shikamaru's POV** Shikamaru lay on a thick tree bough, staring at the puffy white clouds above, thinking of his troublesome life. __And no matter how smart I am, the curse of the Nara family continues. Even if she does notice me, and even if she does tell me what I've been trying to tell her, I'll be like Dad. Damnit, we men are so whipped._ Shikamaru sighed once more as he looked up, sleep threatening to overtake him. He yawned softly, and uttered, "Mendokuse." Live was so troublesome, especially this. A/N: Yeah, finals are coming up in my school, so the next chapter might not come out for a while. Please don't hurt me... whimpers 


End file.
